City-Wide WE READ Youth Voices Writing Contest Returns May 1
MADISON, WI – The WE READ Youth Voices writing contest will open for submissions on May 1, 2026. Six youth 18 and under will have the opportunity to get published and to win up to $500 in cash prizes thanks to support from the Madison Public Library Foundation.
This annual contest, hosted by Madison Public Library in collaboration with Forward Madison FC and the Wisconsin Book Festival, is for kids in the Madison area. The library accepts submissions in English, Spanish, Hmong and other languages, and writing can be in the form of short stories, songs, poems, comics, graphic novels, and more.
2026 Youth Ambassador and Theme
Each year, the contest has a different theme chosen by the WE READ Youth Voices writing contest Youth Ambassador. This year's Youth Ambassador is Octavia Ikard, the City of Madison Youth Poet Laureate for 2025-26. Octavia is a creative writing major and First Wave scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who got their start in spoken word clubs. The 2026 contest theme is Community in Action, and Ikard says that, while they struggled to choose a theme, community spoke to something they felt had been “missing in our nation's history and heart; that we need now more than ever."
“Community serves as a reminder that every action we take plants a seed into something or someone. When we seek connections for the sake of sharing rather than gaining something from them, our care for one another becomes something powerful," said Ikard.
In addition to selecting the theme for the contest, in their role as Youth Ambassador, Ikard will also visit local schools, serve as a judge, and write the foreword for the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology when it's released later this fall.
Contest Kick-Off Event
Kids and families can learn more about the contest's theme at the kick-off event on Saturday, May 16 at the Forward Madison FC home opener against USL Championship club Detroit City FC at Breese Stevens Field [917 E. Mifflin St., 5pm]. A WE READ Youth Voices writing contest representative will kick out the game ball and introduce the contest at half-time. Madison Public Library will also have a table within the stadium from 5-7pm that families can visit to pick up free writer's notebooks, learn more about the contest theme, and snag a WE READ Youth Voices writing contest bookmark. Bookmarks include writing prompts for this year's theme.
“We're so excited to be working with the Madison Public Library again on the WE READ Youth Voices writing contest. This has been a fantastic project for the club and our players to participate in," said Forward Madison FC and Rally Madison FC General Manager Kyler Donovan. “We can't wait to welcome the library to our Home Opener on May 15th and kick off the contest in conjunction with the start of our home season. This initiative is such a great example of ways that people can express themselves and their experiences through writing, and we're thankful for all of the collaboration with the Madison Public Library!"
Contest Details:
Submissions for the contest will be open Friday, May 1 – Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The top six stories will win cash prizes and the top 50 stories will be published in the fifth edition of the WE READ Youth Voices Anthology.
Age Groups:
- Ages 9 and under | 500 words or less
- Ages 10-13 | 750 words or less
- Ages 14-18 | 1,000 words or less
Authors should limit themselves to their single best piece for submission.
Prizes:
Submissions will be judged by a panel of community judges representing different education, writing, and literacy organizations around Madison. Three talented writers will be recognized for their achievements by:
- Being recognized on the field at Forward Madison's game on August 22, 2026
- Receiving a prize package of Forward Madison swag
- Having their stories published in the fifth annual WE READ Youth Voices Anthology, which will be available in every Madison Public Library location and Madison Metropolitan School District library location across the city
- Featuring them at the Wisconsin Book Festival Fall Celebration.
- Having their work be shared via social media, the Forward Madison FC and Madison Public Library newsletters, and other community channels.
The GRAND PRIZE WINNER also receives a $500 cash prize, while the two runners-up receive $250, and the three semifinalists receive $100 each courtesy of the Madison Public Library Foundation. These prizes serve as investments in youth - the winner and their families are left to determine the best way to spend or save the funds.
Learn more about the contest online at madpl.org/youthvoices
The WE READ program is funded by Madison Public Library Foundation, Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation, Friends of the Madison Public Library, Roots & Wings Foundation, and Jane Doughty & David Wood.